Why Email Is Not a Workflow Tool (And What To Do Instead)
When everyone is busy, but little is getting done
A CEO approached me with a concern that will feel familiar in many organisations: her teams were constantly busy, yet progress on key work was slow and inconsistent. Meetings were full, inboxes overflowing, and despite everyone working hard, the organisation felt stuck.
To understand what was happening, we reviewed internal email usage over a three‑month period. The findings were revealing.
The hidden cost of email‑driven work
The senior management team were sending an average of 1,200 internal emails each over three months. That figure does not include replies, forwards, or external communication — this was internal only.
If each email takes just five minutes to:
write
decide who to send it to
find or attach files
re‑read threads for context
…that equates to 91 hours per person over the period.
That is more than one hour every working day, spent purely on internal email creation — not reading, searching, or following up. Just writing.
And emails rarely go to a single recipient.
If the average internal email is sent to two people, the collective time cost increases rapidly.
It becomes clear why teams felt overloaded: the workflow itself consumed their capacity.
The compounding waste
Email is a communication tool, not a workflow tool. When it becomes the backbone of organisational processes, waste accumulates in several directions:
1. Searching for follow‑ups
Employees spend time:
hunting through threads
trying to find who responded
checking whether something was actioned
forwarding emails to themselves for reminders
This adds substantial hidden time.
2. Lost or duplicated information
Key details are buried inside:
long threads
reply chains
forwarded messages
copied messages with missing context
This leads to confusion, mistakes, and repeated questions.
3. Attachment chaos
Documents are lost, overwritten, or impossible to locate when:
versions are emailed back and forth
attachments sit in old inboxes
a colleague leaves the organisation
the sender deletes or archives old emails
Critical knowledge becomes fragmented and fragile.
Why internal email no longer belongs in a modern organisation
Email encourages:
siloed communication
private decision‑making
poor visibility of work
inconsistent processes
slow handovers
duplicated effort
Modern work requires shared visibility, clarity of ownership, and structured workflows.
Email simply cannot provide that.
What works better
Replacing email‑based workflows does not require a big system or a major change programme. It requires the right tool for the right activity.
For tasks and actions
Use Planner or To Do.
These systems:
assign ownership
track status
provide reminders
make progress visible
avoid duplication
For discussions
Use Teams channels, not private chat.
Teams allows:
shared context
threaded conversations
searchable knowledge
visibility for those who need it
persistence even when people leave
For documents and files
Use SharePoint and OneDrive, not attachments.
These tools ensure:
one version
no duplication
controlled access
version history
findability long after someone leaves the organisation
Together, these tools create a streamlined, shared environment where work flows cleanly instead of being buried inside personal inboxes.
Takeaway
The problem in this organisation was not lack of effort — it was the invisible cost of using email to manage work. By moving:
tasks into Planner,
discussions into Teams, and
documents into SharePoint,
the organisation freed significant time, reduced confusion, and created far better visibility of work.
Email has its place.
But internal email as a workflow tool is a barrier to efficiency, clarity, and progress.
Replacing it is one of the simplest, highest‑impact improvements an organisation can make.
